Time to Give Netflix Its Dot-Com Due

Kristen Wiig comedy snags another record

(NEWSER) - It's official: Bridesmaids has become the most popular video-on-demand movie ever, with 4.8 million rentals in four months, says the Hollywood Reporter . It's just the latest record for the sometimes raunchy female comedy, which is also the top-grossing movie in its genre ever made—$288 million worldwide. And that's not counting $100 million in Blu-ray and DVD sales in the US and two potential Oscars—for original screenplay and supporting actress (Melissa McCarthy). More»

But subscription services still reign

(NEWSER) - Movie rental kiosks' market share surpassed that of retail stores in 2010, a study finds: Kiosks such as Redbox hosted 31% of third-quarter rentals, while 27% were from actual stores. Subscription services had the biggest market share, with 41%. Kiosks' market share grew 10 percentage points year-over-year, while stores dropped to 27% from 40%; subscription service rentals climbed just two points, Mashable reports. The NPD study looked only at physical disc rentals—not streaming or downloading services. More»

It's going after HBO, Showtime for new titles

(NEWSER) - Netflix will make more new movies available for instant viewing online at it slowly goes after TV pay channels such as HBO and Showtime. Netflix signed a deal with Relativity Media, a small film production company to get exclusive access to its movies after the theater runs. Upcoming films in the deal include The Fighter, with Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale, and Season of the Witch with Nicolas Cage, reports the LA Times . More»

It now has movies 28 days earlier—but must change pricing

(NEWSER) - A Blockbuster shareholder and former DVD kiosk owner—who tried to warn the company of the impending movie rental revolution back in 2005—says Blockbuster can be saved. Yes, it’s $1 billion in debt and looks doomed, but because Netflix and Redbox recently signed a deal delaying their access to many new films for 28 days, Blockbuster has a new window of opportunity it must exploit, Greg Meyer tells Slate . More»

Netflix takes leading role in company's imminent bankruptcy

(NEWSER) - With Blockbuster, once the dominant US video-rental chain, on the verge of bankruptcy, Daniel Indiviglio takes a look at three crucial factors in the demise of an outfit whose “fate was mostly sealed by its failure to embrace technology quickly enough.”

• Netflix: “Its business model merged technology, convenience and good customer service,” Indiviglio writes for the Atlantic—and it doesn’t have the overhead costs of ubiquitous stores, like Blockbuster.